Titans vs. Eagles: Breaking Down Tennessee's Game Plan

It's a short week for the Tennessee Titans as they'll have to prepare for an angry Philadelphia Eagles team that just got crushed by 33 points at the hands of the Green Bay Packers.

This will be the second straight week that the Titans will face a team right in the middle of the playoff hunt that is looking to bounce back from an embarrassing loss.

The Titans did show some signs of life against the Pittsburgh Steelers under the bright lights of Monday Night Football, but their large chunk of inexperience was ultimately overpowered by the Steelers.

If the Titans can bring that same intensity against the Eagles, then they'll once again remain competitive until the very end. With that said, this game has the potential of getting out of hand with the Eagles' fast-paced offense.

The Eagles have been perfect against teams with losing records this season, according to John Clark of CSN Philly:

"

Titans lose tonight, give up over 200 rushing yards, come to Linc Sunday 2-8. Birds 6-0 vs teams that dont have winning records. #Eagles

— John Clark CSN (@JClarkCSN) November 18, 2014 "

The biggest equalizer that the Titans can bring to this game is their pass rush, which continues to get better each week. It got to Ben Roethlisberger early and often, leading to five sacks. It kept the game close until the end and even helped the Titans to a brief 11-point lead in the second half.

Here are the top four sack leaders for the Titans heading into Week 12, via NFL.com:

1. Jurrell Casey, 4.0 sacks
2. Avery Williamson, 3.0 sacks
3. Michael Griffin, 3.0 sacks
4. Derrick Morgan, 2.5 sacks

This balanced pass rush is how the Titans are going to stay in games that they really have no business being in. If they can force the accident-prone Mark Sanchez into poor decisions, then the Eagles could suffer a serious setback in their playoff push.

The biggest improvement the Titans need to make for this game is stopping the run. LeSean McCoy has struggled by his standards in recent times, and I'm sure the Eagles will look to get him involved early. It will keep Titans linebackers busy, and they'll have to be disciplined in their open-field tackling.

The Steelers just got done gashing the Titans for over 200 yards rushing, which basically won the game for them.

As for the offense, the Titans have to continue to look for ways to relieve some pressure off rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger. He's showing improvement and gradually building confidence to make the necessary throws, but relying on his arm alone will be a losing battle.

Bishop Sankey and Shonn Greene will have to get more than 14 combined carries to keep the Eagles offense off the field. Think back to how the Titans used to attack the Indianapolis Colts back when Peyton Manning was under center. 

Piling up three-and-outs will quickly wear out a Titans defense that has little room for error in the first place. The Titans have to control the clock and win the battle up front with the offensive line. The offensive line has been unimpressive all season, but it did play a little better against the Steelers.

All of this isn't to say that Mettenberger shouldn't get his opportunities to use his rocket launcher for an arm. The Titans definitely need to take their shots but choose them wisely against a subpar Eagles secondary.

The Titans may need to mix in more play action with Mettenberger, per Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com.

Mixing in more play action could open up the opportunity for easy completions to Sankey, Dexter McCluster and Kendall Wright.

I was also pleasantly surprised with how well backup tight end Chase Coffman played in place of the injured Delanie Walker. He needs his fair share of targets as he might be able to fulfill what Taylor Thompson was never able to do. 

This is another game where the Titans can take on the role of spoiler and play with very little pressure. They can try to use that to their advantage and make Sanchez turn the ball over.

Wins are always important, but steady progress from the rookies is what you really want to see in the home stretch of 2014.